March 2013 Newsletter
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SPRING HAS SPRUNG!
THE GREENE HILL FOOD COOP MARCH 2013 NEWSLETTER
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Next General Meeting: Thursday, March 21, 2013 Where: 138 South Oxford Street (between Fulton Street and Atlantic Avenue) When: Thursday, March 21, 7:00PM-9:00PM At the next General Meeting, Spoonable will be treating us to delicious and decadent caramel sauces and recipes to try at home. Once we are all adequately energized by the sugar-rush, the Membership Relief Committee will present their recommendations on creating new leadership by empowering the Co-op Board as well as recommendations on engaging new members and helping delinquent members get re-engaged at the Co-op – or, how to make new members and keep the old! 2 hours of work credit applies! |
Upcoming Events
Just FoodJust Food, a not-for-profit that connects local farms and communities around issues of food justice, is hosting its 2013 conference: “Eat. Work. Grow the Movement” this month on March 29th and 30th at the Food and Finance High School (525 W. 50th Street, Manhattan.) The schedule looks real exciting, and features workshops on everything from food policy, environmental justice and farm workers rights, to “Fearless Canning” and a “Sensory Analysis of Honey and Terroir.” Greene Hill Food Co-op Film SeriesWe are excited to announce that we are working on a Film Series for the surrounding community (members and non-members alike). We hope these films will help educate, inspire and provoke much needed discussion around the politics of food in the US. Our mission is multi-fold:
We are looking for:
If interested or have resources you can share, pls write events@greenehillfood.coop to get more involved. |
Product Spotlight: Passover Edition
Passover is right around the corner! And don’t worry–the Greene Hill Food Co-op has got your back. In addition to iconic Kosher-for-Passover products from Streit’s Matzoh, Greene Hill is also stocking locally-produced and gourmet Kosher for Passover products from The Gefilteria! Try the gefilte fish “demi-loaves” and “family size loaves,” or add some color to your seder plate with their amazing horseradish, in traditional beet and citrus-carrot varieties (pictured above.) |
Recipe: Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients:
Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sift the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda together into a large bowl. Add the raisins and Caraway seeds. Add the butter, and mix it in with your hands until the mixture is somewhat even and in small lumps. Add the egg and, while stirring with a fork, add the buttermilk bit by bit until an even mix is obtained. Turn out the dough onto a well-floured board. Knead it lightly and form it into a circle. Place it in a well-greased 8” pan. Cut an “X” on the top (to allow steam to escape). Brush the top and sides with the egg white, if desired. Bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes, until golden brown and the tester comes out dry. |
In the Garden with Judith  With warm weather on the way, it’s never too early to begin planning for vegetable growing season. We appealed to gardening expert and Greene Hill member Judith Dieckmann for advice on what to plant this month. As per Judith, it is not too late to begin planting outdoor tomato and herb seeds (which are both conveniently available for purchase at the Co-op). She also advised that this is just the right time to begin turning over soil and add in well-seasoned compost for the spring season. Happy gardening!. |
| Speaking of Composting . . . Greene Hill is composting! In the next few weeks the existing chicken wire structure in the backyard will be replaced by a more attractive and efficient 3 bin system. The bins will not have capacity to take home food scraps from members but they will keep the co-op from putting our expired and damaged produce in a landfill. Keep an eye out for an invite to a build day and opportunities to learn more about composting or email emilyannevaughn@gmail.com for more information. |
| Egg Cartons Available!Starting a garden? Allison has been stashing egg cartons on top of the egg fridge, and they're yours for the taking! Egg cartons make great seed starting containers, so please take all you can carry for your home or classroom. |
THE CO-OP WANTS YOU! (aka Job Listings)  Does your erratic schedule not allow you to work a regular shift? Become a Floater!
Have you become all too familiar with Shift Planning? Feeling underwater sticking to your recurring shift? Dive in and join the Floaters! You'll get a weekly email listing shifts at the store that need coverage. Ideally one of those shifts will work for you over the course of four weeks, and you can fill your two-hour requirement while ensuring that you're working where the need is greatest. As long as you work 2 hours in one cycle, you'll stay current and won't have to sign up for a regular shift in Shift Planning. Intrigued? Email shifts@greenehillfood.coop for more information or to sign up. Need to make up a shift? Come on down! There seem to be a lot of fear-mongering rumours that the Co-op will be cutting off the heads of delinquent members! No need to fear, there is no danger since it's so easy to get caught up -- Stop by the store and we'll put you to work! If you have questions please email Maria at shifts@greenehillfood.coop or contact the store ahead of time by phone 347-799-1939. Let’s communicate and keep this engine running! Finance Committee Chairs (2 positions) The Finance Committee co-chairs are both leaving their posts in the next few months and are recruiting new leaders to replace them. If you are interested in contributing to this important area of the co-op's work and/or have a background in finance/accounting, let us know by sending a message to finance@greenehillfood.coop. We look forward to hearing from you! Outreach and Food Justice Chairs (2-4 separate positions) Are you interested in getting more involved with the Co-op? We need some additional leadership and new, fresh ideas to help expand and develop our Outreach and Food Justice Committees. The positions can be broken down to 2 areas (for both Outreach and Food Justice): one admin and one project manager. The admin answers/sends committee emails, approves hours and attends monthly meeting when possible. The project manager supervises and helps facilitate inner and cross committee projects, liaisons with the "steering committee" (basically the other committee chairs) and attends monthly meetings when possible (could tag team with co-chair). Most of the work is done from home (except meetings) so great for parents. These positions may require some time additional time (2-4 hours per month), so this is perfect for people wanting to bank hours for future time off (one year commitment is requested). Interested? Email: outreach@greenehillfood.coop. Special Events Tabling Coordinator We need someone to help recruit and schedule our special event tabling opportunities (festivals, one day events, screenings, etc). This work is done primarily via email, so an ideal job for someone who wants to work from home and that is a clear and prompt communicator. As winter is our downtime, the position runs roughly April-October. with the shifts being roughly 4 hours every 4 weeks (instead of the normal 2). This is perfect for someone that wants to bank hours during the warmer season in exchange for not working during the winter. Email: tabling@greenehillfood.coop. Website Committee The website committee is looking for a few more members skilled in HTML, CSS, and Wordpress CMS. If you are interested send an email to webmaster@greenehillfood.coop with your skills. Must be available to attend at least one in person monthly meeting (usually on Monday evenings) before starting tasks. After that you can work from home! Membership Committee (2 positions) TThe membership committee is looking to fill TWO positions. One is a work-from-home committee coordinator, who can help coordinate committee efforts and oversee the monthly committee meeting. Great for someone who wants to be involved in a core function of the Co-op, but would prefer to work from home! The other is a membership desk worker, who can help maintain procedures for members working in this role, in link with Alison and a team of 3-4 other coordinators. No need to be at the store EVERY shopping day, but it would be great if this person could drop in regularly and coordinate from home. Contact Nick if interested in either role: nick@greenehillfood.coop Refund Coordinators (1-2 positions) Make sure your fellow Co-op members get refunds processed in a timely manner! Step up to process refund and cancellation requests--a work-from-home role of major importance! Coordinators must commit to checking the refunds email inbox at minimum once per week. Contact Nick if interested: nick@greenehillfood.coop The Education Committee Needs Supplies! The Food Demo Subcommittee of the Education Committee is looking for equipment donations as we prepare for the summer season and increased number of demos we'll be doing on behalf of the Greene Hill Food Co-Op. If you have any of the following items you'd like to donate, please contact Education@GreeneHillFood.coop by April 13th.
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| MEET A FELLOW CO-OP MEMBER: Daniel Rojo
Daniel Rojo, who joined the co-op only a few months ago, grew up in Miami and moved to New York in 2011, right after graduating from college. After a brief stint in Manhattan, he “got to Brooklyn as soon as possible.” We talked to Daniel about what drew him to the Co-op, and got the story behind his meteoric rise from humble cashier to cashier leader. GHFC: What do you like about Brooklyn? Daniel: I work in architecture so a lot of what I like is architectural. I love the scale of Brooklyn and the cohesiveness of the neighborhoods, which is something you don’t have as much of in Manhattan. I live in Prospect Heights with my girlfriend. GHFC: What made you join the Co-op? Daniel: When I moved to Prospect Heights, I found out about the Park Slope Food Co-op, which I was all about fundamentally. But when I actually went there I didn’t like it as much I thought I would. Then I found out that there was another one getting off the ground. The pursuit is so idealistic - the idea that everyone is working together for this thing and that everyone is invested in it. At the Park Slope Food Coop it felt like everyone was kind of ironic about it. I think the co-op model works incredibly well. It’s a great way to deliver these foods; I can’t afford to buy organic produce anywhere else. GHFC: What’s your shift? Daniel: I work Wednesday evening. I was a cashier and now I’m a cashier leader. I couldn’t go one week so they switched me to the next week and unbeknownst to me they switched me to cashier leader. GHFC: Is cashier a social job? Daniel: Yes. I learn about all the produce - it’s awesome. If a vegetable that I don’t recognize comes across I’ll always ask about it. I’ve learned ways to make rutabaga, for example. GHFC: What’s one item that you are surprised that we carry? Daniel: I was actually looking in a freezer yesterday and saw something called steak and lentils and I thought that sounded good and then I was like, “Aw, crap! That’s dog food.” GHFC: What do you wish the Co-op sold? Tabasco sauce. We have a couple different hot sauces - we have Chalula and Sriracha and we had locally-made hot sauce but we don’t have Tabasco sauce, which I have to have on my eggs. If it were just that we only had Brooklyn-made hot sauce that would be cool. But if we have Chalula, we should have Tabasco. It works with eggs like nothing else. |
Thank goodness, it seems spring is finally here! The daffodils and crocuses (croci?) are popping up left and right, which means it’s time for gardening gloves – and antihistamines. In this season of renewal and growth, the Greene Hill Food Co-op is putting a lot of thought into how to cultivate and grow our membership into a living, breathing, functioning community of active and informed members. Consider it our version of spring cleaning. Speaking of spring cleaning–have you done a shift lately?